April 30 - Daily Feast

April 30 - Daily Feast There's no wisdom in judging too quickly. The overall picture may be an illusion and what we think we see is in our own minds. Our judgment is poor when we get emotional and fall in love with someone, or call him bad before we know. Silence is a blessing until we are stable and have our perspective in balance. It is true that we have to judge sometime, but a little time can give us wisdom, which comes slowly. ~ The more I consider the condition of the white men, the more fixed becomes my opinion that they lose much by subjecting themselves to what they call laws and regulations. ~ TOMOCHICHI - CREEK CHIEF "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 30 "Modern civilization has no understanding of sacred matters. Everything is backwards." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW Modern civilization says, don't pray in school; don't pray at work; only go to church on Sunday. If you don't believe what I believe, you'll go to hell. Deviancy is normal. Our role models cheat, drink and run around; these are the people in the news. The news sells bad news; no one wants to hear good news. Kids are killing kids. Victims have little protection. Violence is normal. Leaders cheat and lie. Everything is backwards. We need to pray for spiritual intervention. We need to have guidance from the Creator to help us rebuild our families, our communities and ourselves. Today, I will pray for spiritual intervention from the Great Spirit. Grandfather, we pray for your help in a pitiful way. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler The destructive hand is one that never finds a friendly hand to shake. Its finger is always pointed at someone in an accusation. It is shaking in someone's face in a threat. The destructive hand is forever lifted against anyone who differs, ready to strike in disagreement, always lifted for attention to let them tell the wrong someone has done. The destructive hand tries desperately to hold another's good back.....ready to sign a complaint......forever in a gesture of disdain. But pity the destructive hand. It will never know the tenderness of love nor find the clasp of friendship. It will never feel the sun warm on its palm while it lifts someone.....or guide another to happier things.....or wave or cheer or praise and give thanks. The destructive hand is the negative approach to all of life. It can never do anything but discourage and frighten. The positive approach to life is found in every gesture of the productive hand; it builds unbreakable structures, unbroken peace, and joy to soothe the most savage heart. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 29 -Daily Feast

April 29 -Daily Feast Not even one person is isolated to the point that other worlds, other ideas, other persons, do not affect him. At one time the events of one small community was a whole world - but no more. Pay attention to the inner personal world - and what is being built there by words and fears and questionable information. This is not new territory, but alien interference makes it seem like it is. Do not be persuaded by strange voices that promise everything and deliver nothing - no matter how good it sounds. ~ The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand. ~ SEATTLE - DUMAMISH "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 29 "The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power...The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing..." --Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX Have you ever noticed the relationship between children and the soil? Watch how happily they are touching the dirt. The children play in it and eat it. If you are stressed, go to a spot on the Earth, sit down, put your fingers in the dirt, dig in it. Wash your hands in the soil. When you touch it, notice what it does to your hands. Our bodies love to touch the Earth. Sometimes we get too busy and forget these simple things. Maybe you'll even want to plant a garden or flowers. These things are mentally healthy. Great Spirit, today, let me touch the Earth so the Earth can touch me. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Hardly any of us are without some jealousy. We like to think of ourselves above that painful emotion, because such a monstrous feeling is a destructive thing. But if we have not felt a normal amount of it, it is because we have yet to doubt something we love very much. Margaret, Queen of Navarre, and sister of Francis I, King of France in the fifteenth century, wrote the following words: "Love may exist without jealousy, although this is rare; but jealousy may exist without love, and that is common; for jealousy can feed on that which is bitter; no less than on that which is sweet, and is sustained by pride as often as by affection." Jealousy can rear its head when logic is giving you the facts, and throw the whole thing into chaos. But confidence is the enemy of jealousy. Confidence, trust, and faith are all strong parts of a nature where jealousy does not rule. And jealousy, even in moderation, can introduce us to a serious problems with ourselves, if we let it grow out of proportion. It breeds rejection while maturity and understanding keep us safely within the bonds of permissiveness rather than possessiveness. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 28 - Daily Feast

April 28 - Daily Feast Our faith is shaken and disappointment sets in when the pain we thought we were rid of comes back. Our bodies and souls have good memories where pain is concerned - and no matter how hopeful we were, our first response is to think we must have been mistaken. We were not wrong, and we would never let a thief come back in to rob again. Fear is the thief and it steals. So we need to claim freedom from fear with the same intensity we claim other things that are rightfully ours. ~ My heart tells me I had just as well talk to the clouds and wind, but I want to say life is sweet, live is strong, man fights to save his life. ~ CAPTAIN JACK - MODOC, Circa 1873 "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 28 "Indians living close to nature and nature's ruler are not living in darkness." --Walking Buffalo, STONEY There are many Indian people who are living according to nature and according to ceremony and culture. They may not have a lot of material things, but that doesn't mean they are not successful. What is success anyway? Can success be measured by material things? What is it we are really chasing anyway? The Elders say that what everyone really wants is to be happy and have a peaceful mind. Material things by themselves do not bring happiness and peace of mind. Only spiritual things bring happiness. When we live a spiritual life we will not have darkness. Instead, we will be happy. Great Spirit, today, let me walk the Red Road. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler True forgiveness could be described as a divine amnesty where we receive a pardon from the unworthy things we've done, and have another chance to prove our worth. Forgiveness is something we must give in order to receive. And we have a tendency to linger over old grudges, using them to bolster our reasons for not forgiving. But we cannot return to the past, nor can we change one whit of anything that happened then. We cannot make up for resentments we've caused in others, no more than they can make up for ours. To forgive is divine. God is above punishment, but we are not. It is we, not God, who punish by taking things into our own hands and making them work for our own selfish reasons. We demand punishment by hanging on to painful past experiences that produce self-pity. We are the ones who blame God's will for our illnesses, our poverty, our lack of friends. But we are wrong, for there is a moment of truth when we face ourselves and know that we are the guilty. And there is a time such as William Wordsworth wrote about, "That blessed mood, in which the burden of the mystery, in which the heavy and weary weight of all this unintelligible world, is lightened".....because we've been forgiven. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 27 - Daily Feast

April 27 - Daily Feast It is the nature of circumstances to change and move and sometimes begin again. Like a whirlwind on open prairie, even sunlight changes its temperament and people strive to cover their faces and hope that when they open their eyes it will all have straightened out. The changes are often left to us, but when we are on good terms with the Spirit we are given the blessing to know what to do. We are not born knowing these things, but like the food we take every day - so comes the wisdom. And like the food, we take it and digest it and pray over it. Such is the handling of circumstances. ~ May the Great Spirit shed light on your path. ~ BLACK HAWK - SAUK "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 27 "The law is that all life is equal in the Great Creation, and we, the Human Beings, are charged with the responsibility, each in our generation, to work for the continuation of life." --Traditional Circle of Elders Every generation is accountable to leave the environment in healthy order for the next generation. Every generation is accountable to teach the next generation how to live in harmony and to understand the Laws. We need to ask ourselves, "What are we teaching the next generation?" Each individual is directly accountable. My Creator, teach me intergenerational responsibility. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler "Though we speak with the tongues of men and angels and give our bodies to be burned, if we are irritable or hard to live with, it all accounts for nothing," wrote Margaret Widdemer. Wouldn't it be a blessing to ourselves and to others if we could be as gentle and considerate in temper as we expect others to be? It is not a good thing to keep pent up the emotions that rules us so continually, but neither is it good to be too quick and too constantly blowing off steam. It may serve as a tension reliever to us, but it can soon ruin our relationships with others. And without our realizing it, we can soon become chronic complainers. Worry, physical ailments and weariness can cause a short temper that we think others should understand. And most have a way of knowing if that is the case, but prolonged impositions on other people will wear that tolerance very thin. It takes two to have an argument, but it takes only one to start it. The need to forgive and to be forgiven should never be overlooked. To pass over a disagreement quickly without thought to the damage we've done can take the shine off any friendship. There can be no merit in forgetting if we cannot first forgive. There are two voices in this world that will be forever unpopular. One is the voice of self-pity, the other the voice that yells all the time. One declares itself to be the victim of great injustice, the other yells to demand justice. Those who believe themselves to be the victims of injustice - those who believe they are meant to suffer - will always find conditions to prove they are right. And those who yell, "Look what I've sacrificed," and always with the theme, "What I've tried to do for you," have slowed another's progress and stopped their own. True victims of circumstances are easily recognized, and do not care to be noticed as such. And those who yell their merits have received their rewards, so there aren't any others. Both have their attentions turned inward but to the sorrow of most....their voices are not. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 26 - Daily Feast

April 26 - Daily Feast No Indian is too old to remember the little rabbit runs he followed as a child. They are there in memory as surely as he sees the sun and stars and moon today. Just the way the grass was bent and the droppings showed evidence of the rabbit made him keep going. Few perfect things have ever existed - except in the mind of one who has lived the simplest and most profound journeys over a rabbit run. Perfection seems so important - yet it is in the memory that we have it. Living should be as good as we can make it - but real perfection will come when the sun is warm and time is sufficient to again walk that happy trail. ~ Even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season love these somber solitude's, and at eventide greet shadowy returning spirits. ~ CHIEF SEATTLE - SUQUAMISH "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 26 "If those bad words come, I let them come in one ear and go out the other. I never let them come out of my mouth. If a bad word comes in your ear and then comes out of your mouth, it will go someplace and hurt somebody. If I did that, that hurt would come back twice as hard on me." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA What do we do with temptations when they come? What do we do when we hear gossip? What do we do when we hear bad things? If we hear these things and pass them on we will not only hurt the other person, but we will do harm to ourselves. We must be careful not to hurt others. Whatever we sow we will simultaneously reap for ourselves. We must be accountable for our own actions. Great Spirit, today, let no words come from my lips that would hurt another. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler It has been said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But it is even truer that there is no hell more furious than those human beings who feel scorn within themselves for themselves. It is natural but painful for those who do not know the meaning of love to find fault and grief within their own existence. Unable to accept the blame for their actions, there is a continual search for the cause in other people. How can we tell what point in life others may have reached in their development? We can only see and sense the pain that some carry while they learn the way. If it is impossible to get along with them, we should get along without them, but condemning them will never turn the tide. Understanding of others and of ourselves has been a great human need for all time. The fact that we do not look with a critical eye, pecking away in constant irritation at another's faults, but give some sign of friendliness, some patience for rebellious spirits, may serve as the turning point for that spirit. And to try for such understanding does no harm for the one who makes the effort. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 25 - Daily Feast

April 25 - Daily Feast There is something about a mental picture, if you can get the right one, that can be so powerful that it changes a whole way of thinking. Part of a sentence or a few words spoken can be a catalyst for incredible changes. By chance I glanced in the Book of Wisdom, and it said to "throw off all encumbrances." What might seem impossible can be done - first in mind and spirit - then in the physical. "Throw off all encumbrances" means "We can do it." Those few words can make any of us an artist. We are given a beautiful mental image that we are definitely capable of bringing into being. ~ Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. ~ CHIEF SEATTLE - SUQUAMISH AND DUWAMISH "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 25 "In some mysterious and wonderful way you are part of everything, Nephew. And in that same mysterious and wonderful way, everything is a part of you." --Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE In order to experience this, we must be aware of how limited our senses are - eyes, ears touch, smell, taste. These senses help us to function in the Seen World. What we see is interpreted by our minds and put inside our belief system, and this can become our reality. But there also exists an Unseen World. In this world we experience connectedness; we experience the mystery; and we experience another whole point of view. If we pay attention to both the Unseen World and the Seen World, our belief systems will print in our mind a new and wonderful reality. We will see and know we are a part of everything. Great Spirit, today, give me the knowledge to know this mystery. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Have you noticed how hardheaded we are about clinging to the way we think something should be done? If it worked once, we think it should again, and perhaps it does. There are proven methods of getting successful results in many things. But every so often we try to use the same procedure, follow the same general pattern we've used before, only this time it doesn't work. How we pound our fists against that stone wall! Insisting all the time that there used to be a door exactly in that spot. Who moved the door? Frequently circumstances are to blame. But placing the blame is not the important thing. Finding the way is important. The way may not be marked plainly, and we have to blaze a new trail, find a new method. But the hardest part of finding that new method is in admitting we need one. The first and most important step is in changing our idea of how it should be done. As soon as we have accepted this fact the mind has a reserve of experiences and knowledge that will hurry in to help. But only after we've admitted the need for it. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 24 - Daily Feast

April 24 - Daily Feast The strong green limbs of the young ash can put welts across the back if a person doesn't have a good bush-partner. My privilege is to hold back the things that would hurt you. I would not want to look out for myself and never see to it that you came through the wilderness unscathed. If the journey brings no pain then the partnership has a bond. And if there is a bond there are fewer things to whip the soul. ~ Learn now, my brother, once and for all, because I must open my heart to you: There is no Indian who does not consider himself infinitely more happy and powerful than the French. ~ MICMAC CHIEF, 1676 "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 24 "Each person's prayers can help everyone." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW Prayer is our entrance into the Unseen World. It is by prayer we can call upon the powers and laws of the Great Spirit. The Spirit World has powers and laws that are different from the Physical World. The spiritual laws allow healing to take place; they allow forgiveness to occur; they cause miracles to happen; they cause hate to disappear; they heal broken relationships; they guide every moment of our lives; they allow us to love even when it's hard. Prayer allows us access to the Spirit World. Creator, teach me to pray. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Regret is something everyone has, but no once can afford to keep. Being remorseful is commendable when we should be sorry for wrong behavior, but to live with regret is to add to it day by day. There are those who are unable to admit they have ever been wrong. But there are more who carry with them so much regret they are bowed in spirit. Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, once said, "Remorse is beholding heaven and feeling hell," but perhaps just knowing heaven can exist makes regret more hellish. And so often it renders the regretful almost powerless to lift themselves out of their predicament. But there is forgiveness! A daily vow or affirmation can take us a step further in lifting ourselves above the things that cause regret. And if we've settled down in the middle of unhappiness to enjoy our lot in life, then, moment by moment, inch by inch, we shall overcome that, too! *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 23 - Daily Feast

April 23 - Daily Feast Consistent effort grooves the stone. The tortoise and the hare proved that in the fable about who wins and who loses. Another line or so could have been added to the story. The tortoise saw flowers and other slow travelers. He rested and ate in nice places. No one was there to rush him and he arrived at the appointed place in good shape. Time passes and things change. How much better to enjoy it along the way instead of running in all directions and having nothing in the end. ~ Sometimes I look our over the Big Missouri and I see our Indian village....with smoke curling upward.....I hear the warriors yell and the laughter of little children.....It is but an old woman's dream. ~ WAHEENEE - HIDATSA "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 23 "The real meaning of life is your family, the love that you have, the respect, the traditional ways, carrying on with them." --Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN The family is the seed of the future. The family is the key to the transfer of cultural information. We should really take a look at how we are looking at our families. Are we treating each family member with respect? Are we passing on the traditional ways? Are we teaching the old songs? Are we participating in the ceremonies? Are we showing the family members how to pray? Are we encouraging each family member to be spiritual? Think about these things today. My Creator, today, let me show respect to each family member. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Do you remember the interesting story of the lion and the mouse in Aesop's Fables? The lion could have crushed the mouse but was merciful and let it go free. A year later the lion became entangled and the mouse nibbled its way through the net to set the lion free. It is a dangerous thing to wade through other people's feelings, burning our bridges and believing we will never need them again. The saddest persons on earth must be those who find they have tried to destroy the only one who can help them. The smallest and seemingly most insignificant has a purpose in this world, and it isn't for us to judge what that purpose is. We have enough to do in finding our own. As in the fables, we must remember, "Few are so small or weak, I guess....but may assist us in distress....nor shall we ever....if we're wise....the meanest of the least despise." *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 22 - Daily Feast

April 22 - Daily Feast It is sweet when we come to the realization that we don't have to wait for someone to tell us we are worthy. We are children of the Spirit. So what if we made a mistake, lost a game, or fell from grace. Abraham Lincoln was defeated many times before he was elected president - proof that when a person sticks to his ideals they eventually happen. That particular part of the human spirit was made to overcome impossible barriers. It is a sleeping giant that can stand up and break all bonds. But we too often believe it is totally helpless. ~ Very seldom now do I catch one familiar note from these early warblers of the woods....they have all passed away. ~ SIMON POGAGON - POTAWATOMI CHIEF "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 22 "Each creature has a medicine, so there are many medicines. Because they are so close to the Creator, they are to communicate that medicine. Then they bring help and health." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA The Elders say everything has a purpose and everything has a will. We should never interfere with purpose or the will of everything. Every plant, creature, animal, insect, human being has a purpose to be here on the Earth. Each has a special medicine to contribute for the good of all things. Each person also has good medicine, a special talent, a special gift. These medicines are to help others or to help make us healthy. What is your special medicine? Creator, today, help me discover and use my medicine to serve a greater good. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler If you don't know what to do about a situation - wait awhile, the answer will come. If weariness overcomes you before you've completed a difficult job, wait awhile, you'll get your second wind. If you do not agree with someone else's philosophy, don't fret, perhaps later you will come to know that the same philosophy can be reached from many different directions. If you think the activities of another person or group are frivolous and unnecessary, wait a bit, they most likely will feel the same way about you sometime. If you don't like what others have to say, wait, they may clarify it - or you may change your mind. If life hasn't dished you unhappiness, wait a bit. If you've planted any happiness seeds, you will also reap. We can't always wait, but sometimes waiting is action, and action of the hardest kind. It is difficult to keep quiet when you have something to say, but it more often saves your face later and sometimes your life. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 21 - Daily Feast

April 21 - Daily Feast Evening hours in the country bring nature's songs. Coyotes, (probably three or four, but sounding like a whole chorus) stir up the neighborhood dogs. The woods serve as a concert hall for amorous owls that call to one another in a variety of tones and squalls. And in the lull that always comes, the plaintive whippoorwill makes its plea. Its flight resembles staggering, but its song is the song of love. To the Indian, these sounds are all but symphonic and will be heard again in busier places. ~ Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and learn to hear my feeble voice. ~ BLACK ELK - SIOUX "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 21 "Conciliation is the key to survival. Peace is the goal." --Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders When we make decisions or experience conflict we need to look at the greater whole. The end result we want to accomplish is peace of mind. If we keep this goal in mind, we will, overall, live a happy and fulfilling life. Everything in the world is constantly changing so we should not resist this change. A good question to ask ourselves is, "Would I rather be right or happy?" If we would rather be happy, then it is easier to let the little things go. If we would rather be right, we tend to look for the WIN/LOSE. Great Spirit, today, give me the tools to seek peace of mind. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Bad feelings are burdens. When we get to the point of believing the whole world is sour because we don't understand it, we have a lot of self-searching to do. Maybe we helped it to lose its sweetness. Maybe we're the bad apple that soured the whole lot. Our first thought should be to make amends. Sometimes we can't, and when such is the case we need to get out of the way and let time and nature take its course. Life is too beautiful to go on being a bitter pill that insists that everyone swallow it. As in the words of Caleb C. Colton, an English clergyman around the turn of the century, "The man who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the grief which he proposes to remove." We need to unburden ourselves by forgetting our problems and doing something that will put a smile on someone else's face. The quickest way to solve the problem of hurt feelings is to inquire if this situation is important to the whole of existence. Does this particular thing mean more than any of the other things of life? It is amazing how quickly trials fade into nothingness when faced with this question. It places before us the need to decide here and now the meaning of our whole existence. There are not many things in our lives that we can truthfully say mean everything to us. The small things are important and very dear, but the really significant things we count on one hand - life, our loved ones, our good desires, our faith, and our nation. One of the most magnified situations in this day is taking life too seriously. In the stress of too much mental confusion we seem unable to laugh off so many little irritations. We let personality rule us into making each little problem the source of great anxiety and dramatically lay hold of it until it chokes us. The worthwhile side of this life is too important to let ourselves become involved with things that mean little to us. Too much of the trouble in the world is caused from ego-building importance that would never be missed in anyone's existence. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 20 - Daily Feast

April 20 - Daily Feast A little brief authority can play such fantastic tricks before high heavens as to make the angels weep. The angels are not the only ones to weep. Authority, among other things, is very brief. Clearly so when we try to control our thoughts and keep our tongues in check. Misused authority makes people self-destruct. It is not so much the authority we wield over others that destroys us, but our failure to wield authority over ourselves. What terrific power we have, but still we whine, "I just can't do it." ~ From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying force that flowed in and through all things...... ~ CHIEF STANDING BEAR - TETON SIOUX "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 20 "You must be prepared and know the reason why you dance." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW Inside every human being is a need to dance. We dance to music. Have you even wondered why people are moved when they hear an Indian Drum? The drum is the heartbeat of the Mother Earth. Every Indian dance is for a purpose and a reason. Every Song is for a reason. The beat of the drum makes our bodies, minds and spirits join together in harmony. It allows us to connect to Mother Earth and to each other. The dance aligns our minds to think spiritual thoughts. Dancing to the drum is healthy. Great Spirit, today, I dance to honor you. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler We know without being told when we have acted unkindly or behaved unjustly toward another. Intolerance, whether it is personal superiority or religious bigotry, serves only to isolate us from the greatest joy in life - the sharing of ideals and happiness and friendship. We must be patient and fair toward anyone whose opinions differ from our own. There is a much better chance of convincing those whom we hope to influence by being an example rather than a voice. It is much easier to be led than to be pushed, and not so hard to be tolerant when we recognize within ourselves the reasons we are not always tolerant. It sometimes becomes habitual to be dissatisfied with everything we see others do. We don't take time to understand and know the basis for their actions. We often fall short of listening to them long enough to understand, and their next words or actions may explain it. We cannot afford to be intolerant, because no matter how good our ideas are, there is always a better one. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 19 - Daily Feast

April 19 - Daily Feast A long trail of experience can tire us to the bone - but given the right attitude they can refine us as well. Our difficulties may not be cherished memories but they will create a deeper understanding to serve a purpose. Nothing tests a person's mettle like standing firm when it would be easy to collapse. Nothing drains power like hindsight - but this is the important time to put things past in the past. Like the baby chick which pecks its way out of the shell to get its strength to stand, we feel the strain to know what we can do. The things that try us make us strong. ~ They approach like foxes, fight like lions, and disappear like birds. ~ EUROPEAN OBSERVERS OF THE IROQUOIS WAY "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 19 "We all come from the same root, but the leaves are all different." --John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA We all come from one Great Spirit but we are all different and unique. Nothing in the Great Creation has a twin that is identical. Even children that are twins are different. Every single person is extremely special and unique. Each person has a purpose and reason why they are on the Earth. Just like every leaf on a tree is different, each one is needed to make the tree look like it does. No leaf is better or worse than the other—all leaves are of equal worth and belong on the tree. It is the same with human beings. We each belong here and do things that will affect the great whole. Great Spirit, today, let me see myself as a valuable contributor to the whole. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler We want much. It seems sometimes that wanting is all we ever get done. And yet, if it were not for the desires of our hearts, there would be little incentive to work and plan and expect. Some would have us believe it is wrong to desire any more than absolute necessities. But good desires channeled in the right direction can do nothing but better the one who seeks. Sometimes getting is only a substitute for the true desire. Humans have a way of looking outside themselves for things to satisfy their spiritual hunger. It may be prestige. Or it may be anything that will inflate their egos and give them feelings of security. Emerson wrote, "The implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it." We have the ability to rise far above what we think we can. We have within us the answers if we but have the wisdom to seek those answers. And perhaps we should consider, even before we begin to seek, the wisest of all instructions, "With all your getting get understanding." *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 18 - Daily Feast

April 18 - Daily Feast Appearances are deceiving and willfully suggestive. At the first sign of trouble, stand still. Don't jump to conclusions, because they are nearly always negative. Create within yourself a place of harmony. You many not feel centered and poised, but speak the words anyway. Say to yourself, "Be Still. Steady." Peace can pass all understanding. A troubled mind is little different from a strained muscle - it hurts. But stand still and let wisdom come in and do its perfect work. ~ If all would talk and then do as you have done, the sun of peace would shine forever. ~ SATANK - KIOWA "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 18 "Our people don't come in parts. Either you are Indian, or you are not." --Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE We really need to take a look at how Indian People are talking about Indian People. We say there are Rez Indians, Traditional Indians, Urban Indians and Breeds. This type of thinking will keep us separated. An Indian is an Indian, a brother is a brother, a sister is a sister. We are all related. Today, let us respect ourselves and our people. Today, let me realize Indians are Indians. Great Spirit, let me see the Unity of the People. Indians are Indians. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Whenever we stop to consider where we are on the road of life, we might also think about why we are there. Whether it is success of failure, or wavering in the middle of the road, we are where we are because of someone or something. Nearly every person can pinpoint the time in their life when there was a turning point, a change for worse or for the better. And usually there is someone to whom they give the credit for such a change. Throughout our lives we contact many people, and they each leave an impression. As living continues the combination of all those thoughts and feelings and actions forms our opinions, our likes and dislikes, our fears and our loves. But there is one basic factor in all of this that turns us one way or the other - the individual, the personal self. It is how we take life, what we expect, how we do our daily tasks, where we place our values that makes the difference. We are born with the right to choose - and whatever we choose there will always be someone there to help us be good or bad. But first, we must give credit where credit is due. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 17 - Daily Feast

April 17 - Daily Feast Don't keep score. It is a tiresome thing, and if I give you something, it is yours, no strings attached. If you give me something I am grateful, but it is a kindness our friendship does not have to depend upon. Who owes whom? Are we in competition? Is this a race where one person glows with accomplishment and the other sags from running and getting nowhere? No, there is no need to keep score. It wearies the soul and spirit so that it cannot fit the slot of friendship. ~ O, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thought nor measure words. ~ SHOSHONE "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 17 "Women know more about love than men do...Love is taking. Love is sharing. Love is learning things about each other." --Mary Leitka, HOH The Elders say Mother Earth shares Her special gifts of love with the Women. The Women know about bringing forth life and nurturing their offspring. Through this gift of love the Earth really makes the Woman special. Men should look upon the Woman with a Sacred Eye. She should be respected. The Woman is a role model for love. When the Woman talks, we should listen; when she shares, we should be grateful. We should all learn about each other. Grandmother, teach me to love with the power of the Woman. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler It takes such a little whiff of memory to carry us all the way back. Small things tucked here and there remind us of some place, something, some person who has played a special part in our lives. We want to go forward, try new things, know new people, visit new places, yet how nice to slip on those comfortable old slippers of the familiar bygones and remember loving faces and happy times. It is said that we should never return to places that have a sacred spot in our memories. Everything changes with time, so little remains recognizable to us. We begin to think that perhaps those hallowed places were not so wonderful as we remember. But they were, for in their time and that place it was as it should have been, happy and meaningful. They may have changed, but so have we. A little of every place and every person goes with us in the building of even happier times. We have not lost anyone or anything but it is the combination of all that we have lived and learned that builds our character and teaches us the way of life. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 16 - Daily Feast

April 16 - Daily Feast What limitations cannot be moved? Have we tried to move even a little the thing that dares us to do anything? Someone will always try to say we are stuck with this thing so we may as well get used to it. But people adjust too easily to burdens when with a little divine wisdom they would know how to nudge it aside. Test your limitations - and keep testing them. Refuse the voices of solace that speak dolefully. Let nothing daunt your desire to keep trying. ~ We offer thanks.....to the messengers of the Great Spirit who dwells in the skies above, who gives all things useful to men, who is the source and ruler of health and life. ~ IROQUOIS CONSTITUTION "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 16 "But one should pray in one's heart during a sacred ceremony; this is the purpose of the ceremony, to purify the participants both inside and outside." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROW How do you know if you are praying from your heart or from your head? Pray from your head and you will feel nothing; pray from your heart and you will feel feelings. You may feel sorrow, you may feel joy, you may want to cry, depending on what you are praying for. During the ceremony, the cleansing will take place. The Medicine Wheel teaches the four directions of inner power: emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. The prayer controls the emotional, mental and physical. When we ask for purification of our feelings, our mental mind and our physical body, the spiritual direction causes the cleansing to happen. Great Spirit, create in me a clean heart. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler When you hear geese honking their way southward in the quiet of the night, when you head church bells ringing through the crystal clear autumn air, then you've heard the sounds of Thanksgiving. Perhaps memories of Thanksgiving are not the same for all of us. We all carry our own memories within our hearts, and some live only for the past Thanksgivings when a family was more complete. And so this day serves only to remind them of happier times. Those times should be remembered in all their glory and yet, there is the now. It is important too. Perhaps in some ways it is more important, for the challenge to quit thinking of ourselves and to consider how sorely needed is every last person. How memorable we could make this holiday for someone who hasn't even a happy memory. How strong we can be, not for ourselves, but for that memory and for those who do not have the strength. Some young child or some young adult may be looking for a pattern to go by, some reason to be truly thankful, and here is the opportunity. Some of our most delightful hours are spent in conversation with those people sometimes known as senior citizens, our elders, and lovingly, grandmother or grandfather. But whatever their titles, they still have a wealth of wisdom and experience to share with us. Whether we accept the experiences of our elders to profit by, or if we choose to ignore them, will determine a great deal how alert and aware we are of life. For this is life, this experience, this knowledge. And within these lives we find so many things, small though they may be, that have a great part to play in our success or failure as human beings and parents. For they have learned what still remains sacred in man's heart, though years may pass and times may change. To most the unhappy times are forgotten. And left to live are the beautiful beloved things that work as well today as yesterday. Things like cheerfulness, and refusal to take unpleasantness as final; a warm and friendly kitchen where guests had rather be, and a Bible well read; a shinning faith and a belief that the impossible only takes a little longer; and, a good broad shoulder to catch our tears - and love, which after all was the beginning of all of this. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 15 - Daily Feast

April 15 - Daily Feast Neither people not animals take time to analyze right and wrong when they are cornered. They react in the only way they know how - most backing away when they have the chance. On the other hand, some are not wise enough to see the chance to rethink the situation. They run roughshod and take what they want. Is there no tomorrow? Life balances things in ways we cannot understand. Use your heart - see that like attracts like - those who destroy will be destroyed. ~ Why should you take by force from us that which you can obtain by love? ~ KING WAHUNSONACOOK - POWHATAN "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 15 "When people live far from the scenes of the Great Spirit's making, it's easy for them to forget his laws." --Walking Buffalo, STONEY Society today is way off track. Unfortunately, many Indian people are caught up in these modern times. The Elders are telling us we must wake up! We must come back to the culture because this is where His laws are. If we don't follow these laws, we will be unhappy. We cannot do things just because everybody is doing them. This does not make it right. We must follow what the Great Spirit says we must do. We need to pray hard for the courage to come back and live according to the culture. It will be difficult at first but worth it in the end. We must teach our children the culture. Great Spirit, today, let me listen to the warnings of the Elders. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Until you've walked in the rain you cannot truly appreciate the protection of shelter. Unless you've felt the heat from a sweltering sun you cannot fully enjoy the coolness of shade. Only after the clatter and bang of crowded places can you find quietness and solitude so soothing to the nerves. Before you can stop worrying and start living, there must be an elimination of fear which is the cause of all worry. Sometimes, unfortunately, we must collide with the bad before we can totally appreciate the good. It is said that we too often must be reminded of our obligations before we take charge of them. Frequently it seems we must have our freedom threatened before we muster enough patriotism to defend it. Too many shoulders are bowed by our thoughtlessness before we finally learn the key to real success is kindness. We never know how truly wonderful it is to be loved until we are loved when we've failed to deserve it. M.R. Smith's words, "God's plans, like lilies pure and white untold - We must not tear the close shut leaves apart - Time will reveal the calyxes of gold, " reveal, after all, that patience does its perfect work. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 14 - Daily Feast

April 14 - Daily Feast What starts out to be an exaggeration and even a great joke, can turn into a lie. The worst lie is to hurt someone intentionally, but equally sad is the lie told for pure self-defense, or to spare someone the truth. There are those who will believe a lie - which is more in their understanding than the truth. So much drama and so much pretense makes lying acceptable to those living in false existence. To find the right path, get rid of the habit of lying. It is a trap that looks innocent but the efforts lead to wrongdoing. ~ Our fathers gave us many laws.... That it was a disgrace to tell a lie; that we should speak only the truth. ~ CHIEF JOSEPH - NEZ PERCE "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 14 "The base of all things is love, respect." --Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo The greatest weapon of any Spiritual Warrior is love. Love will change minds; love will forgive; love will let go; love will cause good luck; love will heal; love will cry; love will get rid of resentments; love will overcome fear. Love loves love. Any human who is loving will be guaranteed respect. Respect loves love. We need to love and respect ourselves. Grandmother, Grandfather, today, lead me on the path of love. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler Most successful ventures have behind them some hardships. We as human beings, demand such experiences before we can truly appreciate the meaning of victory. No one promised that life would be one long gala event, but if we're made of durable stuff, we neither let it hinder us nor make us run roughshod to get ahead. We must always recognize past hardships for what they are. We cannot ignore them, for they are a part of our makeup. But neither can we let them become crutches to lean upon when there's need for an excuse. Bitterness over past experiences wastes valuable time. Perhaps it was those hardships that gave us the strength to rise above the mediocre things. However crude, ugly or unhappy, even tragic, some of the times may seem, as seen alone, when combined with all our knowledge they form the perfect circle and play no more important part than all the rest. In the words of American poet John Neal, "No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm." *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!

April 13 - Daily Feast

April 13 - Daily Feast Across the valley a thin ribbon of road rises to the rim of the horizon and disappears from sight. It looks like the edge of the world where everything stops simply because it is out of view. But other valleys, other hills, other roads exist beyond what can be seen from just one point. What seems to be the end of the road is a bend in the road. Keep going and there is a broader view, a clearer vision. The outer eye can see only so far, but the inner eye has vision without limit. We can make our views good or bad, negative or positive. What do you see from here? ~ As for me, I assure you I will press on, and contrary winds may blow strong in my face, yet I will go forward and never turn back. ~ TEEDYUSCING - DELAWARE "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" by Joyce Sequichie Hifler *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Elder's Meditation of the Day - April 13 "Once you make a friend, a friend never leaves you, even to death. So a friend is really hard to find." --Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA Once, an Elder told me he made a decision to be my friend. He said this friendship wasn't based on my behavior or how I acted; he said the friendship was based on his decision. He decided to be my friend. This friendship has happened like he said. Even if I don't see him for a long time, or if I get mad at him, he has never changed his decision. This is true friendship. Great Spirit, I'm glad you are this kind of Friend. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* 'THINK on THESE THINGS' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler There are so many things we must come to know. If there are obstacles, we have made them. And if there is unrest it is because of a lack of holiness, of recognizing the truly important. If our appetites are too great, it is not that we crave food or drink, but something higher than that which we are experiencing. Sometimes we fail to know the needs of others, but more often we can see their needs more clearly than we can our own. And we can help ourselves quickly by recognizing the truth of our own being. We are spiritual beings and to operate in the strict physical and mental sense is likened to running a car with only gasoline. It cannot be done efficiently. It takes water, gasoline, and oil. When we learn that it takes our physical, mental, and spiritual beings to make one person, then we are whole and have eliminated the inability to help ourselves. The outcome depends on you and me. And it is our duty to disqualify the thousand and one excuses that keep us from that duty. *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* Available online! 'Cherokee Feast of Days' By Joyce Sequichie Hifler. Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones......and also for those who don't have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com Elder's Meditation of the Day By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org   *<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>* If you would like to Subscribe\Unsubscribe, or change your subscribed email address for The Daily Feast email list, visit here: http://dailyfeast.info and fill out the form!